Some Norwegians were raving on Tuesday that this past weekend’s pinse holiday was the best ever. Those in southern Norway, at least, enjoyed three straight days of sunny warm weather, but the forecast for the coming week wasn’t nearly as good.S
ummer arrived as expected, with brilliant sunshine and nary a cloud in the sky on Saturday. The warm weather continued all through Sunday, and Monday was downright hot in the capital. Temperatures at the state meteorological institute’s station at Blindern hovered around the 27-28C mark, and it stayed warm well into the evening.
The weather was so good over the weekend that thousands flocked to the fjord and didn’t just sit snugly on their boats. Many, not least eager children, jumped into the water for the first swim of the season, even though it was only about 14C. It made for a brisk experience, but brought howls of laughter from the beaches of Huk at Bygdøy to those at Fiskevollbukta.
Some hardy folks plunged into lakes in the hills around Oslo as well, even though they were covered with ice just a few weeks ago. From Hvaler in the southeast to Stavanger and Bergen in the west, the coastal areas were also full of holidaymakers.
The weather wasn’t very good at all in northern Norway, however, and the southern parts of the country were told to brace for poorer weather ahead as well. The winds changed during the night and by early Tuesday, it was blowing a gale on the Oslo fjord.
The sun was expected to keep shining for another day or two, but rain was in the forecast from Thursday. Temperatures were also due to take a dive, to as low as 11-15C on Wednesday, when even a few showers might fall in the afternoon.
The memories of Pinse 2009, though, were likely to keep sun- and warmth-starved Norwegians warm for a while, until the next batch of good weather comes along, maybe next week.
